YouTube is launching brand new tools for Shorts creation to US users.
The first feature is new 60 second recordings. Shorts were previously limited to 15 seconds, but now you can choose either 15 seconds or 60. However, if you’re using music from the YouTube library, videos are still capped at 15 seconds. This is likely due to limitations to YouTube’s music licensing, because creators can use more than 15 seconds of their own songs.
The second feature is new filters for Shorts videos. You can now choose filters in either the recording or editing screens. These will allow you to colour correct your footage or just change the feel of the video. YouTube has said that throughout the year they will be releasing more filters and effects.
The third feature is video captioning. YouTube wants to make Shorts more accessible, so now creators can add captions to their videos. Creators can allow YouTube to automatically caption their videos using speech-to-text technology. Or creators can manually add their own.
The last feature is a Shorts tab in the mobile app. This tab appears where the Explore tab used to be. Explore is being moved to the top of the home feed as a ‘topic’.